alpha radiation
Britishnoun
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Alpha radiation, unlike gamma radiation, has low penetrating power; it can be stopped by clothing.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Plutonium isotopes emit alpha radiation that is relatively benign outside the body, because it cannot travel through solid objects.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
The alpha radiation that DU emits is not strong enough to penetrate human skin, so just being near depleted uranium is not a health risk.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2023
Such radiation is easy to block; one’s epidermis can block alpha radiation, and a few millimeters of aluminum can block beta radiation.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2019
It turned up on chairs – with large alpha radiation readings from where the three Russians sat – and the piano stool.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2016
Under an intense alpha radiation paraffin or vaseline become hard and infusible.
From A Brief Account of Radio-activity by Venable, Francis Preston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
